Davis, Medvedev’s Russia is the last semifinalist: a challenge to Germany

It is Russia, favorite on the eve for the final victory, the last semifinalist of Davis 2021: the team of the eternal captain Samil Tarpischev (who is also federal president) rules the surprising Sweden (who had reached the quarterfinals as best) 2-0 second) and gives Germany to Madrid, Saturday at 13.

Thrill Rublev

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The score, clear (it was the only quarter that did not need the decisive double), should not be misleading, because once again Andrei Rublev only occasionally lived up to his ranking (No. 5) and of his coat of arms, taking two hours and 11 minutes to get to grips with Scandinavian number two (and 171 Atp) Elias Ymer in a match that seemed on ice after less than an hour, when the Muscovite served for the match on 5- 4. There, with two unfortunate forehand mistakes, he put his opponent back on track, so much so that he had to resort to the delicate decisive tiebreak of the third set, between shots against the luminous scoreboard on the sideline, Marchiani errors and some isolated prowess to bring the 1- 0 with a score of 6-2 5-7 7-6 (3). At that point, for world number two Daniil Medvedev it was almost a formality to close the practice with a double 6-4 in an hour and 13 minutes against Mikael, the strongest (94 Atp) of the Ymer brothers, children of a Ethiopian middle-distance runner who took refuge in Sweden: a match in which the Bear did not shine (he lost his serve three times) but which confirms his immaculate path with three wins out of three without losing even a set.

The program

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Meanwhile, the first semifinal will be played on Friday: at 4 pm Djokovic’s Serbia and Cilic’s Croatia compete in a hot Slavic derby.